MLB.com beat writer Brian McTaggart blogs about all things Astros.

Results tagged ‘ injury ’

Astros relief pitcher Pat Neshek is expected to be sidelined for a few days with soreness on the outside of his right foot, he said Tuesday. The extent of the injury isn’t known, but Neshek underwent x-rays and Monday and an MRI on Tuesday, and the results were pending.

Neshek, who signed a two-year, $12.5-million contract with an option, said he felt “something in there” in the first week of spring camp and attributed it to wearing longer spikes or even tying his shoes too tightly. What is known, though, is that surgery won’t be necessary.

“It might have been the start of a small cracking maybe, which would make you back up the running or be in a boot for 10 days,” he said. “It’s real minor, but let’s cut it right now. They said I caught it at a great point, where if you catch now it won’t get worse. That’s a good thing.”

Neshek said he was relieved.

“When I went in yesterday I asked them and they said possibly it could be surgery [injury] and it freaked me out, but that’s not the case,” he said. “It’s relatively minor and will take a few days to heal me up.”

Neshek said it could be the start of a stress fracture, which certainly wouldn’t be a big deal.

“I’m not really too worried,” he said. “I just want to make sure my body feels great. It’s kind of nagging, and that’s the reason I said something and I’m glad I did and hopefully that’s the right diagnosis and we can get it all fixed up here in a week.”

Neshek, 34, is coming off an All-Star season with the Cardinals in which he went 7-2 with a 1.87 ERA in 71 games. He struck out 68 batters and walked only nine in 67 1/3 innings, while saving six games.

Neshek, who has an explosive sidearm delivery, began his career with the Twins and underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the 2009 season. He appeared in 25 games for San Diego in 2011, and a combined 59 games for the A’s in 2012-13.

Astros rookie outfielder George Springer was out of the lineup for a second consecutive game Tuesday with soreness in his right knee/quadriceps area.

Springer, who hit his 20th homer Saturday and didn’t play in Sunday’s series finale against the White Sox, did some baseball drills prior to Tuesday’s series opener at O.co Coliseum to test the leg and still had enough discomfort that didn’t allow him to play.

“I went out and did some stuff and just got some discomfort and we’ll take it from there,” Springer said.

When asked if was his knee or quad that was bothering him more, Springer said it was “overall discomfort.” He wasn’t sure when he would be able return to action, but as of now the situation doesn’t appear to warrant a stint on the disabled list.

“I don’t have a clue,” he said. “I just got to get through it and see what happens.”

Astros manager Bo Porter waited until Springer finished working out with the trainers before filling out his lineup, which again had Enrique Hernandez in center field.

“We wanted to allow him to get treatment and the training staff brought him out and went through some drills, and we went through some running and feel if he’s not able to go full speed without having discomfort, we don’t want to take any chances of it getting worse or him blowing his quad or doing something where we’re dealing with an injury that will take much longer to heal than where we’re at right now,” he said.

Porter said the DL currently isn’t an option.

“As time goes on, the information we get each and every day will allow us to make that decision as we move forward,” he said. “When you look at the 15-day DL, you have to ask yourself, ‘Is he not going to play within the next 15 days?’ and we’re not at that point right now.”

Astros catcher Jason Castro, who missed all of last season after undergoing major knee surgery, will miss the first part of Spring Training after undergoing surgery Friday to remove the sesamoid bone in his left foot.

The injury, which Castro suffered in the Arizona Fall League last month, is similar to the injury suffered a year ago by former Astros second baseman Jeff Keppinger, who had surgery to remove the sesamoid bone Jan. 14 and returned to action in late May.

Castro isn’t allowed to put any weight on the foot for a couple of weeks and won’t be ready for action when pitchers and catchers report Feb. 20, but he is hopeful to be healthy for Opening Day. He hit .205 with two homers and eight RBIs in 195 at-bats in his Major League debut in 2010.

“The timing couldn’t have worked out any more perfectly, as far as having something happen,” Castro said. “You never want anything like this to happen. It gives me time to get healthy and basically have the entire Spring Training to get back in shape.”

Still, the injury casts some uncertainty over Houston’s catching situation entering spring camp. Castro, the club’s first-round pick in 2008 out of Stanford, is slated to be the starter next year in what would be his first full season in the Major Leagues.

Humberto Quintero got most of the starts at catcher last season and on Monday was re-signed to a one-year, $1-million deal, plus bonuses, to avoid arbitration.

Quintero, 32, hit .240 with two homers and 25 RBIs in 79 games last season and has started 147 games the past two years. The Astros have added catching depth by claiming catcher Craig Tatum off waivers from the Orioles in October and they recently re-signed Carlos Corporan to a Minor League deal with an invitation to Spring Training.

Castro, 24, missed all of last season after undergoing surgery to repair a large tear in the meniscus and a reconstruction of the ACL. He suffered the injury early in Spring Training when he stepped awkwardly on first base while running out a ground ball in Lakeland, Fla.

Castro doesn’t know exactly when his current injury occurred, except that the foot began bothering him in the Arizona Fall League title game.

“That’s when I noticed it,” he said. “They’ve told me two-to-three months is about normal for a full recovery. I’m kind of looking right in there and looked at the calendar. It looks like I won’t miss much of anything. Three months puts me in the first week of Spring Training games, and hopefully if all goes well I won’t miss anything as far as playing time and all that.”

Castro, hit .289 in 12 games for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League with a .404 on-base-percentage.

I’m back from a respite in Houston and am in Kissimmee for the rest of the spring, so expect frequent updates. Anyway, I’ll have a story later today on the rash of injuries that’s taken over the club the last few days, but here’s a quick rundown:

1B Lance Berkman had fluid drained from his knee Saturday, one week after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to clean out some loose cartilage. Berkman is walking with a limp and is still sore, but he’s not ruling out returning by Opening Day.

RHP Alberto Arias will undergo a precautionary MRI on Monday. Arias has been diagnosed with a shoulder strain and has lost some velocity on his fastball. The Astros want to get a better look at the shoulder to find out what’s going on.

SS Tommy Manzella, who was diagnosed with a strained quad, is out of baseball drills again today. Manzella said he’s going to take it slow and will be out a few days. General manager Ed Wade told him Sunday morning he didn’t want him to be “Braveheart.”

CF Michael Bourn was held out of Sunday’s game because of a strained oblique. Bourn said he was sore, and he did do some bunting in the batting cage. He’s listed as day-to-day, but Wade said he won’t play until he’s 100 percent.

RF Yorman Bazardo, who strained his shoulder a week ago, has been throwing on the side while the training staff works to improve his range of motion.

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